People pursue outdoor activities because it's fun, entertaining and enjoyable. We are a family oriented blog coming to you from Lake D'Arbonne in north Louisiana with reports about living on the lake, fishing and hunting, a little humor and outdoor news. We love telling stories about the outdoors. Some of them are even true.

It’s about time….but

It’s about time for the fish to be biting. Now, if somebody will please just tell the fish. AND THE WEATHERMAN!!!!

The icepocalypse that blew through last week came at the worst time possible for the fishing. Fish were just starting to be on the move, were feeding on shad and were starting to act like they thought spring was coming for the first time this year. Just over a week ago, not everyone was catching fish, but some nice catches were starting to show up on D’Arbonne and other area lakes. Then weather ran almost everybody off the lake. And it looks like it will again early this week, but the NEXT WEEK….keep your fingers crossed…

It’s been a slow start this year everywhere, due to weather conditions and whatever else Mother Nature has decided is a reason. In years like this, it usually means the spawn bite is on the way in short order, but it may not last as long as usual. There’s nothing we can do about that. Of course, this prediction is just that — a prediction.

Ronnie Turner shows a nice pre-icepocalypse D’Arbonne crappie. The icechest full above also came just before the ice attack.

In the meantime, here’s what’s been going on. This past weekend, a few fish were caught, but it still wasn’t what we are looking for. Crappie on D’Arbonne are still out deep for the most part, but they are moving to the edges of channels and into the sloughs and feeder creeks in some areas. One of the best catches I saw was by crappie.com member Ronnie Turner of West Monroe. Water is pretty muddy, especially up the D’Arbonne arm, Stowe Creek and much of the Big Lake. Water has been pouring over the spillway and through the tainter gate. Water below the spillway in Bayou D’Arbonne is not very far below the top of the spillway. If it rises another 10 feet, water from the lake will have no where to go.

Those are the details as we know them. Here’s the real live fishing report part: Some crappie fishermen are having good luck on plastic jigs and others on shiners. Depths we are hearing go from 10-12 feet all the way down to 18-22. The bridge up at Hwy. 2 has been the most consistent hotspot but fishing in other areas along the channel are also producing. A few good catches are also reported off the creeks in some of the deeper flats when the weather is pretty.

Check out the photos here. That’s what D’Arbonne crappie fishermen have been waiting on.

Bass fishing has still been slow, but fish have to be moving to the shallows. First, a report on D’Arbonne, followed by some results on bass from Caney Lake and the Fishers of Men tournament circuit. A few fish are being caught on lizards and other big plastics. Some fish are hitting slow moving spinnerbaits. No big catches have been reported that I have heard about.

Moving to Caney, Michael Colvin and Aaron Branch caught five fish weighing 11.96 pounds to win the first North Central Louisiana division of the Fishers of Men tournament on Caney Feb. 21. To put together the stringer, the team had to fish multiple locations—ranging from shallow to deep—utilizing Rat-L-Traps, Alabama rigs and spinnerbaits. For their 1st place finish, Colvin and Branch earned a payout of $2,275. It became evident early that weather – coupled with a 15-19 inch slot limit, proved to be a challenge. Only seven of 27 teams caught five fish or more.

Coming in 2nd place was the team of Michael Wolff and Brandon Thrash. The anglers traveled to the spillway located on the opposite end of the lake where they utilized Alabama rigs to land nine fish, the five largest of which came in at 11.77 pounds and earned the pair a payout of $716. 3rd place honors for the tournament went to solo angler Eric Evans who caught his three fish on jigs worked around docks. The 10.56 pound stringer generated a payout of $478. Other money winners in the tournament included: 4th place—Ronnie Sanderson and John Ross (5 fish, 9.76 pounds), 5th place—D.J. Hicks and Kevin Jennings (4 fish, 9.43 pounds, including the big bass of the day weighing 5.93 pounds caught by Hicks), and “just out of the money” consolation prize— Courtney and Kenny Harris (5 fish, 8.62 pounds).

Here are some more details of the FOM event: The circuit is beginning their ninth season. On the evening prior to the event, Terry Ganey, Pastor at First Baptist Church of

Colvin & Branch

Crowville, served as guest speaker at the pre-tournament meeting held at McClendon Baptist Church of West Monroe. For those who missed out on the first tournament and want to join the action, it’s not too late to take part in the chase for cash prizes to be awarded at the District championship and the three Skeeter boats awarded at the National championship. The North Central Louisiana Fishers of Men division will hold the next tournament on Saturday, March 14 on Lake D’Arbonne. For information, log on to the website at http://www.fomntt.com or contact Tournament Director Brent Crawford: (318) 548-4196 or brentwade@aol.com.

The Fishers of Men would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the fine national sponsors that make Fishers of Men possible: Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Stren, Pflueger, Strike King Lure Company, Nester Hosiery, Marshall’s Marine, Kings Home, New Tech Global, Lowrance Electronics, Power-Pole, Duckett Fishing, Buckeye Lures, Keelshield, Solar Bat, Kistler Rods, Jacobs Glass, Hydrowave, Rejuvenade, Berkley, and Rayjus Sportsware.